Overstock meaning in English
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Definition
to overstock: to have more supplies than are needed
We have overstocked these sweaters again. We have 200 and we only need 50.
Examples
- "It's selling well, but we're already overstocked."
- "If we are unable to sell this product, the overstock of perfumes could put a major dent in our profit margins."
Exercise 1
After Philip tells Harold about the "once in a lifetime opportunity", Harold responds by saying that .
After Philip tells Harold about the "once in a lifetime opportunity", Harold responds by saying that he still has an existing stock of "Bordello Breeze".
he still has an existing stock of "Bordello Breeze": Harold says: "We're already overstocked. Why would I want more of the same product?". When he says "we" are "overstocked" he is referring to his department stores. If a business is "overstocked" it means that they have more of a certain product than they are able to sell.
he's already aware of the overproduction problems of "Bordello Breeze": Harold says: "we're already overstocked". This doesn't express that Harold knows Delavigne has overproduced "Bordello Breeze". If Harold knew about Delavigne's mistake, he would probably say: "you have overproduced" and not "we're overstocked".
he has already sold out of his stock of "Bordello Breeze": In fact, Harold says the exact opposite. He says that he is "overstocked" which means that he has too much of the product. To be "sold out" of a product is to no longer have any product in stock because they have been sold, or purchased by customers.
he wants to kill rabbits with his daughter in the woods: Harold is a bit eccentric, but this is not what he means when he tells Philip "we are overstocked".
Exercise 2
Summarize this email by selecting the best answers according to the text.
Kevin writes that the surplus bottles of "Bordello Breeze" are .
Kevin is because .
Kevin writes that the surplus bottles of "Bordello Breeze" are .
Kevin is because .
Summarize this email by selecting the best answers according to the text.
Kevin writes that the surplus bottles of "Bordello Breeze" are ready to be distributed 1.
Kevin is worried 2 because not selling the surplus bottles will damage Delavigne's profit margins 3.
Kevin writes that the surplus bottles of "Bordello Breeze" are ready to be distributed 1.
Kevin is worried 2 because not selling the surplus bottles will damage Delavigne's profit margins 3.
1 ready to be distributed: Kevin writes that the perfumes have been "distilled" and "bottled" and "are currently sitting in our warehouse south of Paris, until we take further action". A warehouse is a building used for storage. Kevin is saying that the bottles may be "distributed" or sold to retail stores at any moment.
1 in need of a quality check: Kevin does not indicate anywhere in his email that the bottles need to be checked or inspected for quality. In fact, they are "sitting in our warehouse" waiting to be sold, which suggest that the perfumes are ready to be distributed and sold.
1 in retail shops already: The bottles are "currently sitting in our warehouse south of Paris", and not yet in stores or shops. "Currently" means "at the present time".
1 missing: The factory has produced too many bottles, but there is no problem locating them. A "missing" bottle is absent or cannot be found.
2 worried: There are several indications that Kevin is worried (or concerned). In his first sentence he writes that he has "a bit of a problem", and from the situation he describes, we can assume that Kevin is "worried" or concerned.
2 confident: Given Kevin's difficult predicament, it would be inaccurate to describe Kevin as "confident".
2 optimistic: Given Kevin's difficult predicament, it would be inaccurate to describe Kevin as "optimistic". Kevin does not yet see any potential solution to this problem, so we cannot call him "optimistic".
2 furious: There is no indication in Kevin's email that he is angry or "furious".
3 not selling the surplus bottles will damage Delavigne's profit margins: Icarus informs Kevin that if the company is unable to sell the surplus bottles, it "could put a major dent in their profit margins". If a "major dent has been put into the company's profits", Delavigne's profits would be considerably affected or hurt. The expression "to put a major dent in our profit margins" means "to negatively affect profits".
3 this incident will lower Delavigne's stock prices : Kevin writes about Delavigne's "stock" and "overstock", but he is referring to the supply of perfumes which Delavigne must sell. Kevin is not referring to "stock" in the sense of "investments" or "public interest" in the company.
3 the cost of the surplus bottles will be deducted from Kevin's paycheck: Kevin writes that he is "directly responsible" for all of Delavigne's production, but there is no evidence that Kevin would be personally responsible for "absorbing the cost" of the surplus perfumes.
3 he himself caused this problem: Kevin writes that this problem was "beyond his control" which indicates that he himself did not directly cause this problem. However Kevin writes that he is responsible for taking care of it. Also, this is not a valid reason why Kevin is "worried".
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